fill

[ fil ]

verb (used with object)

1. to make full; put as much as can be held into:

   to fill a jar with water.

2. to occupy to the full capacity:

   Water filled the basin.

   The crowd filled the hall.

   Synonyms: pack, cram, jam, crowd

3. to supply to an extreme degree or plentifully:

   to fill a house with furniture;

   to fill the heart with joy.

4. to satisfy fully the hunger of; satiate:

   The roast beef filled the diners.

5. to put into a receptacle:

   to fill sand into a pail.

6. to be plentiful throughout:

   Fish filled the rivers.

7. to extend throughout; pervade completely:

   The odor filled the room.

8. to furnish with an occupant:

   The landlord filled the vacancy yesterday.

9. to provide (an office or opening) with an incumbent:

   The company is eager to fill the controllership.

10. to occupy and perform the duties of (a vacancy, position, post, etc.):

    They have already found someone to fill the position.

11. to supply the requirements or contents of (an order), as for goods; execute.
12. to supply (a blank space) with written matter, decorative work, etc.
13. to meet satisfactorily, as requirements:

    This book fills a great need.

    Synonyms: fulfill, answer, satisfy

14. to make up, compound, or otherwise provide the contents of (a medical prescription).
15. to stop up or close (a cavity, hole, etc.):

    to fill a tooth.

16. Cooking. to insert a filling into:

    to fill cupcakes with custard.

17. Nautical.
    1. to distend (a sail) by pressure of the wind so as to impart headway to a vessel.
    2. to brace (a yard) so that the sail will catch the wind on its after side.
18. to adulterate:

    to fill soaps with water.

19. Civil Engineering, Building Trades. to build up the level of (an area) with earth, stones, etc.

verb (used without object)

1. to become full:

   The hall filled rapidly.

   Our eyes filled with tears.

2. to increase in atmospheric pressure:

   a filling cyclone.

3. to become distended, as sails with the wind.

noun

1. a full supply; enough to satisfy want or desire:

   to eat one's fill.

2. an amount of something sufficient for filling; charge:

   The brigade had only one quarter of a fill of fuel.

   He begged a fill of tobacco for his pipe.

3. Civil Engineering, Building Trades. a quantity of earth, stones, etc., for building up the level of an area of ground: Compare backfill ( def 1 ).

   These houses were built on fill.

4. the feed and water in the digestive tract of a livestock animal, especially that consumed before marketing.

verb phrase

1. 1. to complete (a document, list, etc.) by supplying missing or desired information:

      It takes about 35 minutes to fill out the forms for hospital admission.

   2. to become larger, fuller, or rounder, as the figure:

      The children have begun to fill out since I saw them last.

2. 1. to fill completely:

      to fill up a glass;

      to fill up a fuel tank.

   2. to become completely filled:

      The riverbed filled up as a result of the steady rains.

3. 1. to supply missing or desired information:

      He suggested you fill in the facts of your business experience.

      For each sentence, fill in the blank with the correct word.

   2. to complete by adding detail, as a design or drawing:

      to fill in a sketch with shadow.

   3. to substitute for:

      to fill in for a colleague who is ill.

   4. to fill with some material:

      to fill in a crack with putty.

   5. Informal. to supply (someone) with information:

      Please fill me in on the morning news.

4. Nautical.
   1. to fall off the wind and proceed on a board.
   2. to brace the yards, so that sails that have been aback will stand full.

fill

/ fɪl /

verb

1. also intr to make or become full

   to fill up a bottle

   the bath fills in two minutes

2. to occupy the whole of

   the party filled two floors of the house

3. to plug (a gap, crevice, cavity, etc)
4. to meet (a requirement or need) satisfactorily
5. to cover (a page or blank space) with writing, drawing, etc
6. to hold and perform the duties of (an office or position)
7. to appoint or elect an occupant to (an office or position)
8. building trades to build up (ground) with fill
9. also intr to swell or cause to swell with wind, as in manoeuvring the sails of a sailing vessel
10. to increase the bulk of by adding an inferior substance
11. poker to complete (a full house, etc) by drawing the cards needed
12. to put together the necessary materials for (a prescription or order)
13. fill the bill informal.
    to serve or perform adequately

noun

1. material such as gravel, stones, etc, used to bring an area of ground up to a required level
2. one's fill
   the quantity needed to satisfy one

   to eat your fill

Other Words From

• fill·a·ble adjective
• half-filled adjective
• un·filled adjective
• well-filled adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of fill¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English fillen, fullen, fellen, Old English fyllan; cognate with German füllen, Gothic fulljan “to make full”; full ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of fill¹

Old English fyllan ; related to Old Frisian fella , Old Norse fylla , Gothic fulljan , Old High German fullen ; see full ¹, fulfil

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. fill and stand on, Nautical. (of a sailing vessel) to proceed on a tack after being hove to or halted facing the wind; fill away.
2. fill the bill. bill ¹( def 16 ).

More idioms and phrases containing fill

• back and fill
• get one's fill of
• full

Example Sentences

His most recent work, published in The Plant Cell, used advancements in genomic research to fill in gaps of the original soybean reference genome.

From Science Daily

"This leftist judge would have been voted down and the seat on the important 11th circuit would have been filled by Donald Trump next year had Republicans showed up," he tweeted.

From Salon

“If there was something they didn’t think of, they would just ask me, which I loved. I was more than happy to fill those blanks in.”

From Los Angeles Times

It is not a blank canvas for outsiders to fill with ecology in their own image.

From Salon

Washington, Connecticut and Dallas are still working to fill coaching vacancies.

From Los Angeles Times